THOUSANDS of Spanish medical workers and residents angered by budget cuts and plans to partly privatise the national health service have marched through some of Madrid’s most famous squares.

More than 5000 people rallied in Puerta del Sol on Sunday, according to police estimates, after marching from Neptuno and Cibeles squares. Organisers estimated attendance at 25,000 protesters, many dressed in white and blue hospital scrubs.

The march, called “a white tide” by organisers, was the third such large-scale protest this year.

Fatima Branas, a spokeswoman for organisers, said privatisation plans were short-sighted because they did not take into account that savings could be made without selling off services.

“What their plans really mean is a total change of our health care model and a dismantling of the system used,” she said.

Madrid’s government, under regional president Ignacio Gonzalez, maintains cuts are needed to secure health services during a deep recession.